A Shelby man believed to be on the run following a burglary in the Gaffney area tried to thumb a ride with a nearby county’s sheriff on Thursday.

Samuel Ebon Ledford, 20, of 912 Earl Road, has been charged by the Cherokee County (S.C.) Sheriff's Office with first-degree burglary and additional charges are possible, Sheriff Steve Mueller said.

Investigators hope the arrest of Ledford will clear several home burglaries in Cleveland County and in Cherokee County.

Deputies responded to a burglary in progress in the 1200 block of Grassy Pond Road on Thursday morning. The homeowner told deputies that he returned home and found men loading his property into a vehicle, according to a written statement from the sheriff's office.

The resident attempted to get the two suspects to surrender with his handgun drawn but two men got into the car and left. The resident fired two shots as the men fled, according to deputies.

The man told investigators that he then observed another suspect in the doorway of his home. The suspect retreated back into the home and escaped through a bedroom window on the far side of the home.

The sheriff's office tracking team was called to the scene to search.

Mueller said he came upon Ledford, who had his thumb out trying to hitchhike, about a mile from the residence.

Mueller said Ledford told him he had been at a party all night and was walking to his girlfriend's home in Gaffney. Mueller asked Ledford to show him where the party had been, and Ledford pointed out a house on Abernathy Drive.

The house the suspect pointed out happened to be the in-laws of one of his deputies, Mueller said.

After that, Mueller said Ledford became cooperative and admitted his involvement in the burglary.

“He even wanted to apologize to the homeowners,” Mueller said.

Ledford remained at the Cherokee County Detention Center on Thursday night awaiting a bond hearing.

The homeowner also found that two guns were stolen from his home, and deputies decided to place Grassy Pond Elementary School on lockdown as a precaution for about an hour Thursday morning, Mueller said. The sheriff's office was assisted by the S.C. Highway Patrol and Gaffney Police Department in setting up a search perimeter for the suspects.